EM ASIA FX-Chinese yuan rises on trade optimism, others tepid after Fed minutes

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Patturaja Murugaboopathy

Feb 21 (Reuters) - China's yuan surged against

the dollar on Thursday after Reuters reported that the United

States and China have started to outline commitments in

principle to resolve the stickiest issues in their trade

dispute.

Negotiators are drawing up six memorandums of understandings

on structural issues including forced technology transfer and

cyber theft, and intellectual property rights, two sources told

Reuters, marking the most significant progress yet toward ending

the Sino-U.S. trade war.

"U.S.-China trade talk progress ( following reports that 6

MoUs are in the works) is helping to support sentiment," said

Christopher Wong, a senior FX Strategist at Maybank.

China's yuan strengthened for a fourth

consecutive day, breaking below 6.7 per dlr to make fresh

three-week highs.

The yuan was boosted by a Bloomberg report earlier this week

that the United States was seeking to secure a pledge from China

that it will not devalue its currency as part of a trade deal.

The Indian rupee rose 0.2 percent, on the back of

higher dollar inflows related to an external commercial

borrowing, traders said.

However, most other regional currencies dropped against the

greenback as minutes from the Fed's Jan. 29-30 meeting released

on Tuesday didn't bolster views that the U.S. central bank would

completely refrain from hiking rates this year.

"Interestingly, a dig through the text implies they would be

prepared to hike rates if inflation accelerates and that the

majority of governors judge rates to be neutral right here: i.e.

no easing bias," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at

OANDA.

The Thai baht led regional declines with a fall of 0.3

percent, while the Malaysian ringgit shed 0.15 percent.

Sharp gains in crude prices also undermined the oil

importers currencies, like the Indonesian rupiah and

the Philippine peso.

The rupiah edged lower ahead of its central bank policy

meeting later in the day.

A Reuters poll predicted that the Indonesian central bank

would keep its policy rate on hold. The central bank hiked its

rates six times in 2018, the most in the region.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0544 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at

0544 GMT

Currency Latest Previous Pct

bid day Move

Japan yen 110.760 110.85 +0.08

Sing dlr 1.352 1.3515 -0.01

Taiwan dlr 30.786 30.824 +0.12

Korean won 1124.60 1123.5 -0.10

0

Baht 31.150 31.07 -0.26

Peso 51.990 51.9 -0.17

Rupiah 14050.0 14035 -0.11

00

Rupee 71.108 71.11 +0.00

Ringgit 4.071 4.064 -0.17

Yuan 6.703 6.7171 +0.21

Change so far in

2019

Currency Latest End 2018 Pct

bid Move

Japan yen 110.760 109.56 -1.08

Sing dlr 1.352 1.3627 +0.82

Taiwan dlr 30.786 30.733 -0.17

Korean won 1124.60 1115.70 -0.79

0

Baht 31.150 32.55 +4.49

Peso 51.990 52.47 +0.92

Rupiah 14050.0 14375 +2.31

00

Rupee 71.108 69.77 -1.88

Ringgit 4.071 4.1300 +1.45

Yuan 6.703 6.8730 +2.54

(Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy; Editing by Simon

Cameron-Moore)